Four Boxes Arrive
Most urgent in my mind again is getting my house in order. It has become messy with the arrival of four of my boxes from China. I despaired when I saw the condition the boxes were in. They had been subjected to very rough handling indeed. I’ll put a photo on the blog. Part of it was that the Australian Customs Service had opened one and not sealed it up again very well but every box showed signs of having been thrown around and all were torn in some place or other. It was a big relief to find that most things were undamaged, particularly my most precious items. I was amazed that an ornate teapot set I bought in Shanghai had little damage. Five out of six little cups are unbroken and the teapot is intact. A pottery ockarina I bought in Beijing is broken but I was unable to play it and I had little attachment to it. I knew I had not packed it with care as one of the last minute additions and am not surprised it did not make the journey complete. One thing I am a little sad about is an ornament one of my first students gave to me for Christmas. It is a metal ‘Chinese gate’ with three bells hanging from it and a small hammer to ring them. The inexpensive metal it was made of broke under the handling the box received. Perhaps I can glue it but it will never be the same.
I rejoice that my most precious things among those which have arrived are intact. The lovely carved map of Hubei that Amy gave me and The china rabbit given me by Rita. My lacquer screen bought in Xi’an is no worse than when I packed it. It is in need of restoration but I don’t know where I can have that done yet. Pictures rolled and put in long cardboard boxes have travelled well. My books are safe and so are my Chinese learning CDs although one case has fragmented. Two nice bowls given to me by Catherine are in good condition as are my two Korean metal chopstick and spoon sets.
Lots of clothes arrived but most are suitable for winter in a more severe climate than Queensland’s. I have put them in a backpack which also arrived. I had to reassemble it and fit the metal frame back in it. Now it is stuffed with jumpers and jackets. The remaining two boxes have my Guan Yin statue and tripod but they mainly contain my lovely minority cloths. It should not be long before they come. As I write one of the last two boxes has arrived, but not at my home yet. I expect the other to arrive this week and my son will bring the two over here together. Then I can find ways to put beautiful cloths on the walls, it’s something I love in my homes.